


Posession

by idraax



Series: Old Works [7]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/pseuds/idraax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik  (Norway) is acting strange. Ludwig (Germany) is confused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

The first time Eirik notices something strange is when he has a headache. He rubs his temples and frowns. He shouldn't have stayed up trying to summon General Winter, but it was the only time he could. 

"Eirik," Germany whispers from beside him, " are you alright?"

"Just tired, Ludwig," he whispers back, "I didn't sleep well." Ludwig frowns at him.

"Did the General show up?" 

He shakes his head, "No, I'll have to try another time." Ludwig nods and glances towards the front of the room. China is droning on about debts and England and France seem to be having some sort of argument with the Styrofoam cups in front of them. 

"You know," Ludwig says, "we're near the exit, so if you want to go lie down you can sneak out easily." Eirik frowns; he must be looking pretty bad if  _Ludwig_  is suggesting this. He grins though and takes Ludwig's hand. 

"Come join me?" Ludwig frown at him.

"You have a headache, you need your rest." He takes Ludwig's other hand too.

"Please? I'll rest easier if I know you're with me." Ludwig looks thoughtful and Eirik knows he's got him. 

"Someone needs to take notes."

"I'll do it," Iceland interrupts. Both of them startle; they hadn't noticed he was listening. Iceland smirks.

"Make sure he rests," he says to Ludwig.

"I will," Ludwig says and leads them out of the room. 

* * *

 

The next time Eirik notices something strange is when he finds himself lying on the floor of his bedroom with Ludwig above him, eyes wide and holding his glaive. There is blood dripping from it and Eirik can feel a pain on his cheek. There is a blank spot in his head.

"Ludwig," he whispers. The glaive slips from Ludwig's fingers.

"You wouldn't stop," Ludwig says, his voice holding a panicky tinge, " not even when I asked you too." Eirik blinks and takes a closer look at him. Ludwig is in his boxers. The beer patterned ones that Eirik had given him for his birthday. There are bruises on Ludwig's collarbone and large red lines on his chest. Eirik looks at his hands; his nails have a red tint to them. He pushes himself off the floor and steps closer to Ludwig. He raises a hand and traces the red lines. Ludwig stays still, but Eirik can feel him trembling under his fingertips. 

"...I did this?" Eirik is startled at how his voice sounds, rough and pleased. Ludwig flinches and Eirik steps back until he is standing in the doorway. "I think," he says, " that we should stop seeing each other." Ludwig takes a step towards him, " It only happened once!"

"It shouldn't have," Eirik says calmly, " you set limits and I crossed them." He is scared. He had nearly- He stops the thought; he doesn't want to think about that.

"You stopped," Ludwig says firmly, " you stopped." The tone in his voice nearly makes Eirik relent, but he resists.

"What if I don't the next time? What then?" The look on Ludwig's face is enough to make him crumble. Moving closer, he envelops Ludwig into a hug. "It's just for a little while," he murmurs, " until I can get myself sorted out." 

"You'll come back," Ludwig asks quietly.

"Of course"

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

The third time it happens is when he mentions to Denmark that it would be easier if there were only a couple of empires to deal with. Both Denmark and Finland, who has overheard, stare at him. 

"You do remember that most of the word has nuclear weapons now," Denmark says at the same time Finland makes a protest. 

"Yeah," he nods, "but think of all of the lovely carnage we could leave in our wake." Both Finland and Denmark take a step back at this. 

"Look man," Denmark says, quietly. " I know you get nostalgic for the old days sometimes," here he stops and glances around the room, "but you can't say these things at a world meeting where anyone can hear!" 

Finland nods, "They'd get the wrong idea." _But that's exactly the idea I wanted them to get,_ he thinks. And then he stops, cold. That doesn't sound like something he would have thought of.  _What's wrong with me?_

 

The rest of the meeting proceeds as normal. It is only when Ludwig gets up to speak, do things change. All of a sudden the room gets quiet. Ludwig frowns, even he is unused to this level of silence. 

"What is it," he asks, glancing around the room. Eirik refuses to meet his eyes. 

"Ve~ German~y, what happened to your eye?" Italy points at his left one. Ludwig reaches up to touch it. Eirik frowns; he hadn't seen it yesterday. 

"Oh, that," Ludwig says, " I didn't think it would bruise." He looks embarrassed, " I was half-asleep and I bumped into the bathroom door." Eirik knows he is lying. Eirik had done that to him.  _What exactly had happened last night?_

"Ve~ You should be more careful Germany," Italy says, as the rest of the nations laugh. Eirik frowns and catches  Iceland and Prussia looking at him. Eirik knows they will want to talk to him after the meeting.

* * *

 

The fourth time it happens is during the break. France is flirting with Ludwig and Eirik feels a strong urge to go and pull Ludwig away from France, which is silly because Eirik knows that Ludwig can handle himself. 

"Are you ok?" Eirik jumps at the accented voice. Poland's looking at him strangely. 

"Yes, why?"

Poland frowns, "You were growling." He follows Eirik's gaze. 

"There's nothing to worry about, Germany's not going to start another war." Eirik shakes his head.

"That's not it," he says, "he's mine" He's vaguely aware that his hands are curled into fists. The urge to possess, to mark Ludwig and claim him as his own is strong. Only Poland's presence keeps him in his seat. 

"Who's yours?" Poland's looking at him strangely and abruptly Eirik remembers that Ludwig wanted to keep their relationship private. He forces his hands to uncurl and stands up.

"Nothing," he says, " I was worried about France might do to Iceland." He is lying and from the look on his face Poland knows it too. Mercifully, Poland lets him go.

* * *

 

The fifth time is when Eirik is talking to Iceland and Prussia. They have cornered him in a side room near the main one. Sweden, Denmark and Finland are there too. Reinforcements, his mind supplies and he feels the absurd urge to attack them. Instead he backs into the wall and leans against it. 

"Did you need something," he asks, although he has a good idea of what it is.

"What the fuck did you do to my brother," Prussia is swearing. Eirik takes that as a good sign because it means that Prussia's not quite mad at him yet.

"I don't know," he replies, " I can't remember." They frown.

"What do you mean you can't remember Norje," Denmark asks. His hand twitches, as if he wants to grip his ax.

Eirik twists his hands in his pants, " Exactly that. There's a blank spot in my head. I remember kissing him one moment and the next, he was standing over me covered in bruises and scratch marks and holding my glaive." Eirik didn't think it was possible, but Denmark's frown gets deeper. 

"I think, " Prussia says, " that you should stay away from my brother for a while." He wants to agree, he really does. But the possessive feeling comes rushing back and all of a sudden something's got his tongue.

"No," he hears a growl in his voice, " he's  _mine_. Mine to do with with what I please. " 

"What did you do to him," Prussia asks, his voice quiet. Eirik knows Prussia's angry, but he can't seem to stop. He hears himself laugh.

"I  _marked_  him," he says, he can't even recognize his own voice anymore, " showed him that he's  _mine_. That he's-" Eirik blinks and finds himself on the ground. Prussia's fist is dripping with blood. 

"Don't talk about my brother in that way," Prussia's voice is glacial and Eirik shivers at hearing it, an odd, primal feeling skittering down his spine. He stares at them, eyes wide. 

"...w-wh-what's wrong with me," he manages to say. His voice shakes. It is the first time in generations that he is well and truly scared.


	3. Chapter 3

 

After the meeting, Eirik goes home and locks himself up in his house. It is not until Denmark and Sweden break down the door that he realizes that he hasn't talked to anyone in several weeks.

"You look like shit," Denmark says. Sweden grunts in agreement. Behind them, Iceland and Finland shift nervously. 

"You all need something," Eirik asks. The  _you have interrupted my research and I would like to get back to it thank you very much_ , unspoken.

"Ludwig's worried about you," Iceland says. The rest of the Nordics nod in agreement. Besides Prussia, they are the only one's that know about his and Ludwig's relationship.

"He shouldn't be," Eirik says, " I hurt him." Finland bends around Sweden to look at him.

"We have a theory on that actually," he says. He looks at Sweden, who gives him an encouraging look. "You said you were going to have a chat with General Winter right?" 

"Yes, why?" Eirik is mystified at the abrupt change in topic.

"You were going to summon him, right?" Eirik does not like where this is going.

"You don't think," he starts, "I hardly doubt that my attempt to summon General Winter has anything to do with this!" The rest of the Nordics give him looks that he cannot decipher. 

"Your summoning attempt didn't succeed," Denmark asks. Eirik shakes his head. 

"I have to try again next year." The other four trade wary looks.

"We t'ink y'ur poss'ed," Sweden says. Eirik backs up a little.

"Why do you think that?"

"Think about it," Finland says, " when you were talking to Denmark and I at the meeting, you were talking about wanting to return to the old viking days."

"And you were talking about Ludwig as if he was a possession," Denmark adds. H _e's being unusually serious for once_ , Eirik thinks. 

"That's because he  _is_!" Immediately Eirik claps his hands over his mouth and stares at them. He's horrified because  _he's not the one who said that_. And he knows that Sweden is right.

Sweden takes a step forward, "Eirik" Eirik backs up.

"No," he gasps, " stay away!" He can feel it now. The thing, the demon trying to take full control of him. He gropes around for the coat closet doorknob. He finds it, pulls the door open and there is his glaive, sparkling in a beam of sunlight. He grabs it and turns back to Sweden and Iceland, who have followed him.

"Here," he thrusts the glaive into his hands, " give this to Ludwig." It's a signal. He'd gotten Ludwig to agree to stop him if he went crazy, back when they had first had sex. 

"Wha-," Iceland starts to protest. Eirik looks him in the eyes; Iceland takes a step back. Eirik is sure that his eyes are starting to change. 

"Go," he says seriously," the next time you see me-" He stops, swallows. "It's not going to be me anymore," he whispers before he pushes them out and pulls the door shut.

* * *

 

The second Ludwig sees Eirik's glaive he knows that Eirik is in trouble. 

"He asked us to give you this," Iceland says as he curls Ludwig's fingers around the glaive, but Ludwig is not listening anymore. Instead he is staring at the glaive like he has never seen it before. 

"Brother," Gilbert asks worriedly, " are you all right?"

"Did you find out about why he was acting unlike himself," Ludwig asks; he is vaguely aware that his voice has gained an edge to it.

"He's possessed," Iceland says softly.

"By what," Ludwig asks sharply.

Iceland shakes his head, "We don't know."

"Possessed," Gilbert breaks in, "what do you mean by possessed?"

"Exactly that," Finland answers. Ludwig jumps; he hadn't realized that Finland, Denmark and Sweden were in the room.

"Well," Prussia frowns, " that would explain why he's been acting weird. How'd he get possessed anyway?"

"It was the ritual wasn't it," Ludwig interrupts, fingers tracing the etchings on the handle of the glaive. 

Sweden looks surprised, " He t'ld you 'bout t'at?"

Ludwig frowns, " He tells me a lot of things."

"And you believe this," Gilbert asks. His fingers are twitching. Ludwig tightens his grip on the glaive. 

"Yes," Ludwig says simply. They all stare at him, incredulous. 

"Why," Iceland asks, "why do you believe us?"

"It makes sense," Ludwig says, "Eirik's been acting unlike himself and once..." Here, he hesitates, one hand coming up to lightly touch his collarbone.

"You never told me exactly  _what_  he did to you," Gilbert says. He's watching him, eyes flicking towards the glaive and then back up to his face.

"He hurt me," Ludwig says," that's all you need to know." He wasn't going to tell  _anyone_  the details, especially not Eirik himself. 

"Was it 'im or the de'mon," Sweden asks.

"The demon," Ludwig replies, "I'm sure of it....when he....came back to himself, he was shocked. It definitely wasn't him."

"How do we get rid of it?" Everyone looks at Gilbert, who shrinks under the scrutiny. "What," he asks.

"We weren't expecting you to be the one asking that, you didn't seem to believe us." 

Gilbert frowns, "It's not a matter of whether I believe you or not, all I know is that West's boyfriend is acting weird and that West want's him back to normal. I don't care about the specifics." The Nordics trade looks.

"We actually didn't really have an idea," Finland says nervously. The German brothers stare at him. 

"You don't have an idea," Ludwig says slowly. Various responses of 'no' came from the Nordics. Ludwig sighs.

"I need some air," he mumbles, heading towards the door the glaive still in his hands, " I'm going for a walk."

"Don't worry West," Gilbert calls after him, "the Awesome Me will come up with something!" Shutting the door behind him, Ludwig had to smile.


	4. Chapter 4

 

Ludwig didn't know how long he had been walking for, but somehow he had ended up in the Black Forest. He walks around for a while listening to the sounds of faint bird-calls and breathing in the smell of loam. He stops when the glaive in his hands pulses and looks around. He is in a clearing, in front of a medium-sized spring. He frowns and looks at the glaive, still pulsing, in his hands.  _Eirik did say it was an energy detector once._  He walks over to the spring, tugs off a glove and dips a hand into the spring. He can feel the spring's power; it hadn't diminished even with all of the pollutants in and around it. He remembers walking with Eirik in this forest once; Eirik had said that it was an area of concentrated energy. 

"I wonder," he says, voice quiet, "if you can help me." The spring does not give him an answer. He remembers the legends; the ones about offering something to a spirit in exchange for the granting of a wish. "Will you grant my wish," he murmurs to the spring. It bubbles in answer. "And the price?" He feels it then, the presence of something in the spring. 

 _"Dip the weapon in the water,"_  comes the whisper. He complies, slowly lowering the glaive into the water. The spring glows a bright aquamarine.  _"Let go,"_  the whisper says.

"I..." he is reluctant to do so, this is Eirik's after all.

 _"You will get the weapon back,"_ the whisper assures him. 

He lets go. The glaive makes a faint plop as the water curls around it. The glow gets brighter and brighter until it swallows up the scenery around him. Then it abruptly fades away. He looks down, feeling a weight in his hands. The glaive is in them, looking like it did back when Eirik first obtained it.

"Thank you," he says, "and the price?" He has a feeling that the spring is amused. 

 _"Come visit me again,"_  the whisper says,  _"you hardly ever visit anymore."_  There is an edge to the whisper and he can feel the whispers fear of being isolated in this dark forest.

"I can do that," he says. He understands. After all loneliness is a powerful thing.

 

The sun is setting by the time he gets home. The Nordics are still there, arguing with Gilbert over the correct method to destroy a demon. They look up when he enters.

"That was some walk West," Gilbert says, " did you get lost?" Denmark snorts and the rest of the Nordics fight to hide smiles.

He smiles faintly, "No, I just was thinking and lost track of the time."

Gilbert frowns, " Feel any better?"

"Some" he pulls up a chair, sets the glaive on his knees and leans over to study the , crude, drawing on the table. 

"Did you come up with anything?" Immediately, they start talking; each trying to explain their idea. He listens, occasionally tracing the etchings on the glaive. Even if they don't have a comprehensive plan by tomorrow, he has a feeling that things will work out.

* * *

 

 

By the time Ludwig gets to the UN building he is panicking. He has never been this late before. Briefly he wonders why he overslept, but he shoves the thought away, apologies and excuses already writing themselves in his head. He opens the door, "Sorry I'm-" The rest of the nations are staring at him, fear on their faces. He glances around, Eirik is not there. 

"Ah, Ludwig I was wondering when you would get here," Eirik's voice says from behind him. A shudder works its way though his spine. T _hat is not Eirik,_ the shudder says. He swallows and steps into the room. 

"No," Denmark yells, "stay out!" Too late. He's already in the room and the door is closed behind him. Eirik's arms work their way around him and he can feel Eirik's frigid, sweet breath in his ear.

"You should have listened to Denmark," he hisses in Ludwig's ear. Ludwig flinches and tries to take a step away from him. Eirik's arms tighten around him and Eirik leads him to the front of the room. I _should have bought the glaive along,_  Ludwig thinks as Eirik slides a hand down his chest. 

"What are you doing?" Eirik rests his chin on his shoulder and Ludwig can feel him grin.

"Do you like," he whispers, " I took 'em hostage."

"Why did you do that?' Eirik's grin widens.

"Because," he says cheerfully, " they were bickering, and" There's something dark in his tone. Ludwig really wishes he had the glaive. "you hate it when they bicker," he continues.

"Yes, but this isn't going to make them stop."

Eirik laughs, "Oh, we're beyond that point. If I get rid of them then you won't be upset anymore." Ludwig takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself down. 

"That," he says," would make me more upset." Eirik's fingers curl around his neck. 

"Don't worry," Eirik says, " you won't have to see it." 

 

_No!_  

 

Suddenly the glaive is in his hands, glowing. Eirik recoils and screams. Ludwig can smell blood. It trickes down from Eirik's back and pools around his feet. 

"Where did you get that," he screeches. Large scarlet wings erupted from his back and scratch the ceiling. Claws burst from his hands and grow to tapering points. Ludwig takes a step back.

"Iceland gave it to me," he says. His fingers tighten on the handle.

"Did he," Eirik-no the demon purrs, " you shouldn't have summoned it. I'll just have to take you out first!" The demon lunges at Ludwig, who dodges and brings the glaive up. The demons claws scratch the handle and stick. The wings wrap around them both.

"Give it up," the demon snarls, " your lover is gone!"

"No he's not," Ludwig screams and twists the glaive. Somehow the glaive winds up piercing the demon's chest. The demon wails as bright light surrounds it. The wings break and disappear. The claws break off and hit the floor. Eirik crumples to the floor, a large, bloody hole in his chest. He is not breathing. Neither is Ludwig. 

 

_I killed him,_  is Ludwig's first thought.  _I killed him, I killed him, I killed hi-_ The world is frozen, narrowed down to the stillness of Eirik's chest. The clink of the glaive hitting the floor barely registers in his head. He blinks and finds himself on the floor with Iceland standing over him. He opens his mouth and starts to rant. Ludwig isn't listening, still trapped in his own thoughts. A yell snaps him out of his thoughts. Denmark is shaking him. He opens his mouth and out comes a litany of apologies, fears and worries. Vaguely, he's aware that he has begun to babble. Both Denmark and Iceland are staring at him. He cannot place the expression on their faces. There is a wetness on his face.  _Tears_ He realizes.  _I'm crying._

He becomes aware that he is shaking as his voice fades. He sees Denmark's face crumple and, then, all of a sudden he is being hugged. 

 

"Not your fault," Iceland whispers, "it wasn't your fault." It takes a while for Ludwig's sobs to fade, but they do. Then there is silence. It blankets the room; it's suffocating. Then, it is broken by Eirik's gasp.


	5. Chapter 5

 

There is a large gap in Eirik's mind. He cannot remember what happened after he gave Iceland his glaive. He looks around the room. Everyone is staring at him like he is a ghost. 

"You're alive," Ludwig whispers. Eirik takes a step forward and stops. Ludwig is holding the glaive in his hands. There is blood on them. 

"What happened?" Eirik does not recognize his own voice. For several moments no one speaks. 

"I killed you," Ludwig blurts out and then buries his head in his hands. Eirik blinks. The blank spot in his head is more apparent now.  _What the hell happened?_

"What's going on," Eirik asks. There is a pain in his chest. England gives him a look. 

"Are you back?" Denmark is watching him intently. Eirik frowns. The last thing he remembered was being overtaken by the demon.  _The demon! How could I forget!_  Quickly he scours the inside his mind. He doesn't feel any trace of the demon's presence. 

"I think so," he says carefully. Even though, he does not feel the demon's presence, does not mean it has gone away. 

"One minute," Ludwig says. He steps forward and raises the glavie. Iceland and Denmark flinch. Eirik merely reaches out a hand and touches it. Nothing happens. He locks his hand with Ludwig's; the glaive in between them. They stare at each other, an entire conversation passing between them. Eventually Ludwig takes the glaive and steps away. 

"I should clean this," he says, heading for the door. 

"Wait," Eirik calls after him. Ludwig turns in the doorway. 

"It's ok," he says, " none of it was your fault...Just be careful next time alright?"  _We're alright,_  his eyes say,  _we're alright._  He steps out the door and turns the corner. Eirik turns to the rest of the nations, seeing the questions in their eyes.

"Ask away," he says.

* * *

 

Later, when he is back home sitting on the couch and turning the pages of an old tome there is a knock on his door. He gets up, shuts the tome and places it on the table in front of the couch. Ludwig is standing at the door when he opens it. He doesn't ask to come in and Eirik doesn't offer. 

"Hi," Eirik says after a minute of silence. 

"I got your call," Ludwig says. His breath steams out into the air. 

"I suppose you want an explanation?" Ludwig shifts.

"That would be nice." Eirik sighs. 

"Come in," he says and widens the gap between the door and the wall. He steps to the side, allowing Ludwig to enter the house. 

Eirik has cleaned the house. He supposes it's his way of making sure that the demon is well and truly gone. His house reflects him after all. He motions for Ludwig to sit on the couch and Ludwig moves towards it. Eirik watches as he gingerly sits down. He's tense, just like the first time Eirik invited him in. 

"Do you want anything," Eirik asks.  _Perhaps that will calm him down some,_  he thinks. 

"No thank you," Ludwig says politely. Suddenly, Eirik has the urge to rush over and hug him. Ludwig is regressing back into the state he was in when they first started dating. God it had taken them  _so long_  to get to the point where they felt comfortable enough around each other to open up. Eirik does not want to see them go back to the beginning.

"I didn't mean that we couldn't see each other," he says.

"I assumed that what's breaking up meant," Ludwig says dryly. 

"As friends," Eirik amends. Ludwig sighs and grips the fabric of his pants.  _He hasn't taken off his gloves_ , Eirik realizes. That was one of the first things Ludwig would do when they came back home. 

"I don't want to be friends." Eirik is taken back. 

"We can't avoid each other." Ludwig looks at the carpet.

"I know. " Then more quietly, he adds, "I don't want to break up." Eirik hears him.

"I hurt you," he says, " I don't want that to happen again." Ludwig looks up at him.

"That's what you're worried about," he asks. Eirik nods. Ludwig's hand comes up to rub at his temples. 

"I love you," he says, " you know that right." Now, Eirik needs to sit down. He sits in the armchair across from him. The table is between them.

"Pardon," he asks. He's sure he hasn't heard right. 

"I," Ludwig looks embarrassed, "I know I don't say it often, but I love you." 

"You can't, not after...," he's grasping at straws now. Ludwig gets up and comes to kneel in front of him.

"I..." Eirik casts around for something he can say, but comes up with nothing. Ludwig takes both of his hands in his and curls their fingers together.  _He always does this,_ Eirik reflects, _when he really means something._

"I love you," Ludwig says. There is a ferociousness and earnestness in his tone that Eirik has never heard before. He shakes his head, "You can't! I hurt you. What if I do it again? What if-" Ludwig's lips are on his, the rest of Eirik's words turning into mumbles. 

"I'm not going to leave you," Ludwig mumbles against his lips, "not for something like this." Gently, Eirik pushes Ludwig off. 

"We set limits," he says, "when we first started dating. I crossed those limits." Ludwig blinks. Eirik can see tears beading in his eyes. All of a sudden Eirik feels each and every one of his centuries. "I don't want to hurt you again," he whispers. Ludwig makes an odd sound in the back of his throat and tightens his grip on Eirik's hands. 

"I trust you," he says, "I trust you." Eirik feels water on his hands and realizes that they both are crying. Ludwig hugs him and Eirik lets himself melt into the warmth and safety that those arms offer.

"I trust you," Ludwig mumbles into his shoulder, "I'm not leaving." Eirik draws back and Ludwig flinches. 

"Relax," he says, "I'm not going anywhere." He reaches for the tissue box on the table, pulls one out and wipes Ludwig's eyes. "I'm a fool." He feels the smile on his face. Ludwig looks confused. 

"I don't..." He looks adorable. This time Eirik follows the urge and hugs him. 

"I am a fool for ever thinking of leaving you. I just," he pauses and takes a deep breath, "I don't deserve you." Ludwig smiles. _God he looks beautiful._  Eirik has missed that smile.

"It doesn't matter, you're stuck with me." He takes off the coat and tugs off his gloves. "So," he picks up the tome, "what were you reading?" Eirik's smile gets even wider. All of the tension eases from his body.  _We're going to be alright,_ he thinks as he moves over to let Ludwig squeeze in beside him,  _we're going to be alright._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
